1. Kant’s Philosophical Achievement

The thought of Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is central to modern philosophy in two respects. First, it is a definitive synthesis of rationalism and empiricism, the two main strands of early modern thought. Second, it became the basic position to which all subsequent philosophies were more or less explicitly related.

Kant’s writings are customarily divided into two periods, precritical and critical. The second…